"i Need Feminism Because..." Cambridge University Students Sha

[Lil Red]

Are you freaking kidding me...

 

which part? :unsure: 

[photosynthesis]

 

 

So, you're probably talking about something somewhat different than Photosynthesis and I, or at least bring different baggage with it, so we might be talking past one another to a certain extent.

 

 

 

Baggage is definitely an issue, at least with me.  I'm certain that the reason that I gravitated toward feminism was because of my own anger at my father... or more like a non-father.  I never knew what it was like to be protected by a man growing up.  My mother was an amazing model of independence and resiliency   She was and is a career woman, not by choice but by necessity, and while I harbor no resentment toward her, there were big tradeoffs, and she is the first person to say that she feels like she missed out on enjoying my childhood and all those little moments you don't see when you are sitting at a desk all day.  I was told as a young girl (by my mom and by my teachers) that my future was limitless and I can be anything I want to be.  When I'm on the playground with my four year old, I am the only one under 30 that is not a nanny.  Most of the other moms waited until their late 30's or 40's to start having kids and I'm younger than most of them by over a decade.  It's so weird and I feel like a freak most of the time.  They tend to look at me like I'm wasting my youth... "Gosh, you're so young," they'll say, with a sad tone of voice.  I had my first kid at 25.  Most of the women I know who are stay at homes feel guilty about it.  I know I feel guilty, because I have a perfectly good college degree and I spend my days baking bread, gardening, and going on adventures with my daughter.  But hey, my husband is really good at that whole making money thing and even though he leaves his socks on the floor and doesn't make the bed, I have a sweet deal.

 

I do feel bad for women who are told that they should not go to college, study math or science, or theology, or what have you.  There are some brilliant Catholic theologians out there and I do love St. Catherine of Siena, Alice Von Hildebrand, St. Hildegard, etc.  These women were not mothers, however.  I know it isn't a popular thing to say right now, but when it comes to careers and kids, you cannot have both without a tradeoff somewhere.  In the case with working mothers, often children are the ones who absorb some of the pitfalls.  There are some great nannies and daycare programs out there.  And of course if Grandma and Grandpa (or another trusted relative) help out, well that is a sweet deal, too.  And while there are always going to be exceptions and extremes, it is ideal for children to be cared for by their own parents, not in a daycare or with a nanny for 12 hours a day.  Maybe i am biased because I cannot wrap my mind around the idea of dropping my child off for such a huge block of time.    

 

I plan on encouraging my daughter to do whatever God's will is for her, whether that's law school, religious life, engineering, art school, being a stay @ home mom, etc.  I will also encourage her to really think about how she would balance a career and children and encourage her to go into a career where it is possible to work at home.  When I was growing up, I was told to follow my dreams and do what I love.  "Don't worry about what job you're going to get with that liberal arts major," they'd say, "Just do what you love and everything will fall into place."  I never thought to ask myself, "Who is going to watch your children while you're leaning in and living the dream?"

 

Robots will probably take over most human jobs in the future anyway... so who knows what the workplace will look like in 20 years.  Hopefully it won't be too frightening.

Edited June 21, 2013 by photosynthesis

[ploomf]

And yet you have a Saint, St Gianna Beretta Molla, who was both a mother and a professional woman, a physician. And yet I doubt anyone would say she didn't put her children first in her life.

[tinytherese]

Zelie Martin, the mother of St.Therese who is being considered for canonization along with her husband Louis, worked as well. She made lace for a living and didn't put her career before her children.

 

Wonder Woman!

[EmilyAnn]

I need feminism because a mans motivations for his educational or professional goals aren't given the third degree like a womans are. Example: see this thread. :|

[the171]

We all need feminism because sexism still exists.

[CrossCuT]

Are you freaking kidding me...

Do you have something to say?  :hehe2:

[Lil Red]

I need feminism because a mans motivations for his educational or professional goals aren't given the third degree like a womans are. Example: see this thread. :|

 

THIS.

[Papist]

So basically, girls ROCK!

[fides quarens intellectum]

Meh, I don't need feminism.

 

 

Has anyone in here read "The Flipside of Feminism?"  I'm curious to hear what Phatmassers who have read it thought about it. 

 

For those who don't have the time to read a book like that, you can check out a series of interviews with the authors to get a gist of the book - just click on the May 22, 23 & 24 podcasts

 

[LittleWaySoul]

I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT SO MANY OF Y'ALL ALSO CONSIDER YOURSELVES FEMINISTS!  :bounce:

 

New Feminism FTW :love:

[HisChildForever]

I need feminism because a mans motivations for his educational or professional goals aren't given the third degree like a womans are. Example: see this thread. :|

 

Yep. x100000000.

[beatitude]

I need feminism because of what these young women faced when they set up a feminist society and decided to participate in the 'I Need Feminism Because...' project.

[Basilisa Marie]

Meh, I don't need feminism.

 

 

Has anyone in here read "The Flipside of Feminism?"  I'm curious to hear what Phatmassers who have read it thought about it. 

 

For those who don't have the time to read a book like that, you can check out a series of interviews with the authors to get a gist of the book - just click on the May 22, 23 & 24 podcasts

 

No, I haven't, and it looks like a load of New Feminism packaged as anti-feminism. 

 

Everyone needs feminism!  I'd recommend checking out the links to difference feminism, new feminism, and such in this thread.  

[CrossCuT]

I need feminism because of what these young women faced when they set up a feminist society and decided to participate in the 'I Need Feminism Because...' project.

Thank you for this link

[CrossCuT]

I need feminism because a mans motivations for his educational or professional goals aren't given the third degree like a womans are. Example: see this thread. :|

Maybe we need feminism because people are talking about needing feminism?

[photosynthesis]

I've been studying feminism and hanging out with a bunch of radical feminists inspired by the women of the second-wave movement.

 

The radical feminist community is staunchly pro-breastfeeding and pro-midwifery. Motherhood is celebrated, but not in any sexist way - there is no shaming of childless women, or insinuations that a woman has to give birth to find fulfillment, or anything like that. And radical feminists, while they believe there is a need for contraception in society as it stands currently, don't treat it as liberation but rather as a way for men to secure sexual access to women in an exploitative way. There are several radical feminist critiques out there on contraception. Even many liberal feminists wouldn't view it as 'liberation', despite being a lot more positive about contraception generally. There seems to be a tendency amongst some people to label any woman who talks enthusiastically about birth control as a feminist, even if her overall politics are at odds with key aspects of feminist thinking. There are frictions between Catholicism and ideas carried by certain streams of feminist thought, but these are not necessarily the frictions that people would initially imagine or expect.

 

I would say that breastfeeding and natural birth activism (or 'lactivism') might be a branch of feminism, but there are also many feminists who think that breastfeeding should be de emphasized because of the conflicts that arise between the workplace and lactation.  For the most part, when it comes to women's health activism, feminist discourse tends to be centered around access to birth control, abortions on demand, and the woman's right to delay pregnancy so that she can focus on her career.  

 

I need feminism because a mans motivations for his educational or professional goals aren't given the third degree like a womans are. Example: see this thread. :|

 

Men don't have the burden and the privilege of carrying life.  They don't give birth, they don't breastfeed, etc.  Their careers can be more consistent because childbearing doesn't demand as much from them.  That's not to stay that men have a license to not be involved with their kids' lives, but being a father is inherently different from being a mother.

[Basilisa Marie]

I would say that breastfeeding and natural birth activism (or 'lactivism') might be a branch of feminism, but there are also many feminists who think that breastfeeding should be de emphasized because of the conflicts that arise between the workplace and lactation.  For the most part, when it comes to women's health activism, feminist discourse tends to be centered around access to birth control, abortions on demand, and the woman's right to delay pregnancy so that she can focus on her career.  

 

 

No, those are just the issues that get the most media when people want to talk about feminists.  Feminism is a wide and varied idea, so there's no such thing as "most feminists" unless it's "think women are important."  It's not fair to discount what some feminists are saying just because it doesn't provide great talking points to be bashed on TV.  

 

And sure, fatherhood is different than motherhood, but that's no excuse to hyper-question women when they decide to go to school or work.  Why don't we constantly hound men about spending time with their families and spending more time at the office to get that promotion?  We just assume that men can handle making the decisions on their own, and we trust those decisions are the best for his particular situation.  Why can't we trust women to make the same kinds of decisions without a barrage of questions and judgments and qualifications?  Why is our first thought that a woman is being selfish if we find out that she is a working mother?  

 

Or, on the flipside, why do so many people assume a woman is giving up her dreams if she chooses to be a stay at home mom? 

Edited June 21, 2013 by Basilisa Marie

[fides quarens intellectum]

No, I haven't, and it looks like a load of New Feminism packaged as anti-feminism. 

 

Everyone needs feminism!  I'd recommend checking out the links to difference feminism, new feminism, and such in this thread.  

 

  :hehe2: Everyone? 

 

 

I don't need feminism.

[CrossCuT]

Why